Death events and their meaning in Korean mythology: Focusing on and

Abstract

In Greek mythology, the human world and the afterlife are strictly separated. On the other hand, in Korean mythology, gods appear between this world and the afterlife. Representative entities include Bari from 〈Princess Bari〉 and Ganglim from 〈Chasabonpuri〉. Previous studies mainly looked at the mythological meanings and perspectives on the underworld/death shown in these people’s underworld adventures and travels. On the other hand, this study attempted to examine the view of death in Korean mythology through the occurrence of various death incidents in mythological texts and the relationship between death incidents, that is, the intersection of human death and divine death that seeks to resolve it. Human death in the mythical world is God’s punishment for humans and a gateway to growth. On the other hand, divine death is a way to examine the cause of human death and solve death as a problem, and is an opportunity for ontological change to become a god. Specifically, the shamanic myths 〈Chasabonpuri〉 and 〈Princess Bari〉 give the concept of ‘justice’ to the continuity of life and death or the principle by which the events of life and death are composed. During human life, one must act righteously based on the standards of right and wrong, and if one is greedy, he or she will be punished by death. In this process, we can see that life and death are causal and cyclical, and are linked to concerns about how humans should live. The aspects of death that appear in the shamanic myths 〈Princess Bari〉 and 〈Chasabonpuri〉, such as violent death, punitive death, and instrumental death, are a world of shamanic mythology that unravels the origin of justice through the occurrence of various death incidents and their relationships. It tells you that you are paying.